Police investigating the suspicious death of a Gympie man who died after getting trapped in a woodchipper say that they’ve been informed that a love triangle may be the motive behind the gruesome death.
Bruce Saunders, a popular 54-year-old butcher, died in November 2017 after becoming caught in a woodchipper he was using to clear the property of a female friend. Two other men were on the scene at the time, who reportedly told police they had tried to save him after he got tangled in branches feeding into the machine.
Police said it was “one of the worst incident scenes” they’d ever scene, with Gympie Police inspector Paul Algie telling reporters:
It was actually quite horrific. His friends discovered him as he became entangled and attempted to extract him from the shredder and were unable to do so. So they’re obviously quite traumatised now.
However, police have recently reinterviewed both men along with several other witnesses, and have collected “items of interest” from the property in a raid earlier this month.
They’ve confirmed that the death is now a homicide investigation, spurred in part by people who knew Saunders contacting investigators to suggest that the death may not have been accidental.
It’s understood that Saunders had recently moved from Bundaberg to Nambour following a breakup, and had started a new relationship. Police say that a love triangle is among their lines of inquiry regarding Saunders’ death.
